SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS ON WAY

City will install medians, other pedestrian features on busy Carlsbad Boulevard

CARLSBAD 
Carlsbad will install medians and high-visibility crosswalks on Carlsbad Boulevard to make it safer and easier for pedestrians to get to and from the beach.

The improvements will be between Carlsbad Village Drive and Tamarack Avenue. The City Council approved the work at its meeting Tuesday night.

The project will focus on pedestrian crosswalks at six locations along a one-mile stretch of the coastal road. The locations are at Oak, Pine, Sycamore, Maple, Cherry and Hemlock avenues.

At five of these — Oak, Sycamore, Maple, Cherry and Hemlock — the improvements will include installing a 6-inch raised median in the center of Carlsbad Boulevard, giving pedestrians an island in the middle of the road where they can stop halfway across. The city also will install warning signs, and some could include rectangular flashing lights that pedestrians can activate when they want to cross at these locations to alert motorists that someone is entering the crosswalk.

The sixth location, Pine Avenue, has a traffic signal and will have a high-visibility crosswalk.

Carlsbad Boulevard is a busy commercial area along the beach with lots of visitors and residents. The five-lane roadway is more than 70 feet across, with traffic traveling about 30 mph.

“This is another example of the livable streets concept, which recognizes that streets aren’t only for vehicles, but for people,” deputy transportation director Bryan Jones said. “These changes will make it easier for everyone — people exercising along Carlsbad Boulevard, surfers carrying surfboards, grandparents pushing strollers — to go to and from the beach in one of the busiest and most beautiful parts of Carlsbad.”

Livable streets, also called complete streets, use street design to create a sense of place and community through green spaces, medians and signage, while encouraging a healthier, active lifestyle. The City Council identified livable streets as a top priority at its annual goal setting workshop in January.

Other changes include allowing traffic to only turn right, or northbound, when exiting Oak, Sycamore, Maple, Cherry and Hemlock onto Carlsbad Boulevard, and placing crosswalks on the south side of the intersections, to prevent pedestrians from crossing in front of vehicles making those turns. The safety improvements are evenly spaced so that every other intersection will have a crosswalk and median island, and the adjacent intersection on either side will allow full access for motorists.

Cost of the improvements would be within the city’s $200,000 capital improvement program budget.

“I think the residents are really going to appreciate this,” Councilman Keith Blackburn said. “I think that in the big scheme of things $200,000 to probably save a life ... is pretty significant.”